Radar – an overview

What is it for?

This template is great for comparing multiple attributes of different entities in the form of radar/spider, radial bar or star charts. 

How to get started

1
Your data should include a column of names and at least 3 columns of numeric values. In radar charts, it's important that these value columns are comparable so they should all be on the same scale, like percentages or scores out of ten.
You can add more than 3 value columns - each one you add will become a different axis on your radar charts.

Name Composition Rhythm Voice Solos Humour
John 10 6 8 5 9
Paul 10 6 8 7 6
George 8 6 7 10 5
Ringo 2 10 2 5 5

2
If you have a lot of data, you may want to select a category column to filter by. This will create a dropdown menu in your visualization where you can select which category to view.

In addition to the dropdown filter the legend in our Radar template is clickable, so the user can click on a value to add or remove it. 


3
In the Preview tab, you can choose what kind of radar chart you want to make under the Shape settings. The classic radar uses a ring shape, drawing straight lines between metrics to create a polygon. The star shape draws lines back to the center between each data point. 

You can create a radial bar chart in this star mode by reducing the Star inner to 0 and increasing the line width. 

We've written a blog post on why these star charts are sometimes more suitable than normal radars.

4

Another feature of our radar charts is the ability to combine radars together. Under Controls, you can choose to have the combined option available, which layers radars on top of each other.

You can also add a Grid of charts column binding in the Data tab to combine radars based on another category in your dataset.

The grid of charts is responsive, so if the number of columns is set to Auto, they will adjust automatically depending on the size of the window and your minimum and maximum chart settings.

5

If combined radars look too cluttered, you could opt for comparison lines instead. These are more subtle outlines of the other radars in your data, which can be easier for comparison. Under Shapes, turn on comparison lines and adjust the styles of the lines and fill.

6

If you want to add outer labels to group metrics more broadly, you can add these in the Radial axis settings. Enter one per line, specifying the angle you'd like them positioned (0-360°).

7
The Radar template also features both popups and panels. Our help doc on adding popups and panels to your visualizations can help you customize these. You might even want to embed charts in your popups or panels like in the example below.

Get started with your own radar chart now! »

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